Politicians of both parties have benefited from campaigns that promise to get tough on crime by locking up as many people as possible, regardless of the social or economic costs to society. The result has been a veritable punishment frenzy, manifested most obviously and expensively in an unbelievable expansion of the country's prison populations and correctional complex. However, advocates of the "prison pays" ideology have badly misinformed policy makers and the public on the effects of incarceration on crime rates. While crime, especially violent crime, is declining, the reasons for this decline cannot be solely linked to increases in the use of imprisonment or other forms of punishment. Other factors such as demographic trends, a growing economy, innovative policing and prevention programs, more effective gun control and other socioeconomic trends that are related to crime rates have been ignored. Policy makers should concentrate on reducing prison terms, implementing cost-effective intermediate sanctions and redeploying resources earmarked for imprisonment to crime prevention strategies that adequately protect the public while offering more hope for long-term reductions in crime. Tables, figure, notes, references